Final Destination

Aviophobic Alex ("SLC Punk!'s" Devon Sawa)
has a vision that the plane transporting his
French class to Paris will explode; his
panicked reaction gets him and several
friends ousted from the flight. When his
prediction comes true, Alex is suspected of
involvement, but he has more dire problems
to worry about: Death is apparently
determined to fulfill its impenetrable plan, and
the survivors of the doomed Flight 180 are one
by one meeting mysterious and grisly
demises.
For a
horror flick about precognition, "Final
Destination" is sadly lacking in the ability to
foresee what will thrill and chill audiences. To
start, the build-up to the crash is badly
botched; the inconsistent jumble of warnings
leading up to Alex's premonition are mostly
insignificant and coincidental, lessening the
impact of those that are preternaturally
portentous. The vision and its subsequent
actualization go by far too quickly, failing to
savor the most intriguing part of the film. And
the survivors soon prove to be mostly
annoying, unsympathetic and richly deserving
of the fate that pursues them (as is anyone
who would lean over a computer with a
copiously-leaking mug of alcohol while on the
Grim Reaper's Most Wanted
list).
Lazy writing
cheats plot progression by serving up vital
exposition elements via a preposterously
omniscient mortician (intimations as to his
not-so-secret identity are strangely
unaddressed). And the clues Alex receives are
disappointingly random and scant; a complex
web of synchronicities would have more
effectively anthropomorphized Death as a
taunting or at least cognizant antagonist. More
importantly, it would have been cool. Instead,
Alex's gift--and the premise's potential--is
underdeveloped and squandered.
Starring
Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen
Cloke and Seann William Scott. Directed by
James Wong. Written by Glen Morgan &
James Wong and Jeffrey Reddick. Produced
by Glen Morgan, Warren Zide and Craig Perry.
A New Line release. Thriller. Rated R for
violence and terror, and for language. Running
time: 97 min